Yesterday, NBC announced it was going to let Undercoversplay out the string. with the final episode airing Dec. 1. I’m not saying it’s surprising, given the ratings and the problems the Table noted week in and week out: not enough conflict; way too much hinting at a bigger plot without any actual plot movement; and a protagonist couple that, while loving, and that’s cool and all, didn’t have much behind it as far as individual characterization.

If you’re scoring at home, this continues the Table’s streak of seeing a show until its’ demise. Though Heroes, as we all know, just wore us out slowly over time, Undercovers joins Flash Forward as flashes in the pan. More worryingly, expect the former’s demise to give renewal to the argument that POC leads “can’t carry a show.” Well, at least one that isn’t a sitcom or an “urban drama.”

For a fleeting moment, Undercovers was on to something good. In introducing an Evil French Spy Couple, finally we had the chance to see the Blooms test themselves against real adversaries.

Naturally, by the end of “Not Without My Daughter,” they were dispatched. What with the show seemingly stable, ratings-wise, and more episodes on the way, one can only hope that they come back – and bring much-needed tension with them. But the Roundtable certainly won’t forget about them, nor one particular exchange between Steven and Hoyt …

Actually, there’s been some mixed messages regarding the show over the past few days. Sure, the show’s been granted a stay of cancellation, but even its’ fan blogs have to note that the show’s ratings and viewership continue to drop.

There’s also been posts crediting the show with helping NBC become “the most watched network in black households.” Going by this post from Target Market News, the Peacock does have four of the Top 10 shows for that viewership … but Undercovers comes in at No. 11, having dropped 200,00 viewers between episodes 1.3 and 1.4.

And by now, the cat’s definitely out of the bag about this show, and we’re not the only reviewers out there who see the flaws. As Aymar Jean Christian at Televisual puts it,

In short, Undercovers was a decently executed but ultimately underwhelming project that was hindered by its lack of edge and depth not ambition and quality. It would have done better on USA*, alongside White Collar and Covert Affairs …

We’re just saying, we totally called that a couple of weeks ago. But enough about us … actually, this is the part where we start dishing on Team Bloom’s battle with bad Irish accents in “Jailbreak.”

Never let it be said that the Roundtable is above a mission of mercy. And as this episode proves, Undercovers is definitely in need of … something.

About the only cool thing in “Devices” was seeing Philippe Brenninkmeyer – aka the swinging German husband from Super Troopers – play the bad guy. I’d put up a link to one of his scenes here, but, uh, you’re better off looking it up after you leave work today. Trust me.

Otherwise, the episode was so repetitive it’s become even more annoying: the Blooms are still having the “Wow, it’s so weird teaming up with the partner I’m schtupping!” talks. At least there was finally the beginning of some sort of bigger plot movement, with a more serious, more suspicious-acting Leo Nash getting in the way of the team.

But, with the show still fighting unbearable ratings issues, we’ve decided to perform a public service – and try to preserve our sanity – by offering tips to the creative team on how to fix up each of the show’s primary characters before it’s too late.

So, based on last week’s open thread, here’s how the tally broke down:

Nikita: 6

Undercovers: 4

Both: 4

Which is close enough for us to keep an eye on both shows for the time being. When it comes to Undercovers, that might not be too long: The Wrap reports that the show’s ratings dropped by 24 percent between its’ premiere and the second episode, “Instructions.” Meanwhile, Law & Order: Los Angeles – starring SKEET FRAKKING ULRICH – looks to be progressing nicely. Seems we can’t win for losing. But does this episode even mark the show as being worth saving? Let’s see what the Roundtable has to say …

Based on the pilot episode, Outsourced has the potential to be something rare: a show that’s pissing off people on both sides of an issue, but in reality is too bland for its’ own good.

As things stand, it mostly pussyfoots around its’ premise: Todd walks into work one morning to find out the novelty product call center he’s supposed to lead has been shifted to India – no city is named on the show’s website, by the way – and staffed by locals.

Now, there’s comments on the show’s page expressing offense that a) the network would air a show about Americans losing jobs to “those people;” and b) that South Asian actors would willingly take part in a show that reduced them to Funny Minority backdrop roles for yet another clueless American character. Somewhere in the middle of both stances, there’s room for a comedy that can address both sides of the issue. But so far, this doesn’t look like it’s gonna be it.

It’s the new show we’ve gotten the most review requests for. But did Undercovers live up to the hype and the hope? So far, yes to one, and maybe to the other.

We’d known going in that Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw would be headlining the show as married spies-turned-caterers Steven and Samantha Bloom, and that they’d get called back into action. What I wasn’t prepared for – and this tells you a lot about Hollywood - was how … well-adjusted these characters would be thus far.

Leontine G. sent in a troubling example of the framing of children’s deviance, and their own complicity in this framing. While we usually try to keep text down to a minimum on SocImages, this one needs to be handled with care. So please forgive the unusual length of this post.

Leontine included two links: one to a Today show story about a 7-year-old boy who took his family’s car on a joyride and got caught by police, and one to a CNN story about a 7-year-old boy who took his family’s car on a joyride and got caught by police. Different 7-year-olds. One white, one black.

The white boy, Preston, is interviewed with his family on the set of the Today show. Knowing his kid is safe, his Dad describes the event as “funny” and tells the audience that if this could happen to a “cotton candy all-American kid like Preston,” then “it could happen to anybody.”

When the host, Meredith Vieira, asks Preston why hid from the police, he says, “cause I wanted to,” and she says, “I don’t blame you actually.” With Preston not too forthcoming, his Mom steps in to say that he told her that “he just wanted to know what it felt like to drive a car.” When Vieira asks him why he fled from the police, he replies with a shrug. Vieira fills in the answer, “You wanted to get home?”

Vieira then comments on how they all then went to church. The punishment? Grounded for four days without TV or video games. Vieira asks the child, “Do you think that’s fair?” He says yes. And she continues, “Do you now understand what you did?” He nods and agrees. “And that maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing?” He nods and agrees. “You gonna get behind the wheel of a car again?” He says no. Then she teases him about trying out model toy cars.

They conclude that this incident just goes to show that “Any little kid, you never know what can happen …” and closes “I’ll be seeing you at church buddy boy!”

Race, Culture, and Identity in a Colorstruck World

About This Blog

Racialicious is a blog about the intersection of race and pop culture. Check out our daily updates on the latest celebrity gaffes, our no-holds-barred critique of questionable media representations, and of course, the inevitable Keanu Reeves John Cho newsflashes.

Latoya Peterson (DC) is the Owner and Editor (not the Founder!) of Racialicious, Arturo García (San Diego) is the Managing Editor, Andrea Plaid (NYC) is the Associate Editor. You can email us at team@racialicious.com.